Universal wound spoo l



Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.1

ROBERT K. CLARK, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

UNIVERSAL WOUND SPOO'L, METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR USE IN MAKING 'THE SAME.

Application filed July 18, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, ROBERT K. CLARK, a

citizen of the United States, residing at for Use in Making the Same, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to Universal wound spools having one or more heads that are particularly adapted for supplying thread to high speed sewing machines and further relates to a method of and apparatus for use in the manufacture of Wound spools of this type. W'ound spools or thread cops of the character indicated are usually provided with a cylindrical core having flanges or heads secured on its ends, one of the heads being removable. IVhen a thread cop of this character is used on high speed sewing machines. this removable head is removed and the cop is placed in the machine in upright position with the end from which said head is removed uppermost so as to enable the thread to be drawn from that end. IVhen the cop 4is to be thus used, it is important that the lower end of the mass of thread wound on the cop core should be close against the bottom head of the cop, otherwise there would be danger of loose coils of thread working down between the lower end of the mass of thread and the vhead and thus become entangled. In wind- .ing this type of thread cop a thread guide .in the form of a shoe is employed that traverses back and forth longitudinally of the core and rides upon the mass of thread being wound. Heretofore, it has been customary to wind tle thread on the core previ- Yously to applying the heads as it was not found practicable to wind a substantially flat endedmass of thread on the .core after the heads had been applied, for the reason that with the prior methods of winding the .heads would interfere with the traverse of the thread guide and prevent it from lay ing the thread close against the heads as required.

. An object of the present invention is to cross wind the thread on a core after t-he heads are attached, in such a manner as to Serial N'o. 652,306.

insure the thread being laid close against the heads of the headed core.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for carrying out the method.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved thread guide for a device of the character above indicated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel wound spool of the Universal type.

The several features of the invention whereby the above mentioned and other objects of the invention may be attained, will be clearly understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a plan view of a portion of a thread guiding device which may be employed for carrying out my improved method and showing a sectional plan view of a partially wound spool of the Universal type mounted on rotating driving spindles;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 with a portion of the head of the 'cop spool partly broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 but showing the spool near the completion of the winding operation.

The spool of thread illustrated in the drawings is provided with a cylindrical core 2 and with heads il and V6 that are made up of yielding disks of libre or other resilient material, the head l being permanently secured on the core and having its inner face covered by a piece of felt or other soft material, and the head 6 being removably secured on the core, the construction being similar to that illustrated and described in my pending application Ser. No. 645,776, filed lune 16, 1923.

In carrying out my improved method of winding, the spool is mounted on the ends of the usual rotating spindles 8, and a grooved thread guide 10 in the form of a narrow shoe is employed that traverses back and forth between the heads of the spool, riding first upon the coreand then upon the mass of thread as it is being built up. This thread guide 10 is mounted in the usual manner upon a reciprocating lcarrier 18.

In the illustrated construction instead of the thread guide 10 being rigidly mounted, it is formed on one end of a yielding spring arm 22, the other end of'which is securedto a bracket arm 24 mounted on the carrier 18. The outer end of the arm 22 is provided with a curved V-shaped groove 26 over which the thread passes to the thread guide l() and thence to the spool.

The operation of the sliding carrier such that the normal limit of the traverse of the thread guide l0 in the direction to-` ward the head 4 is at a point so located with relation to the inner face of said head that upon each engagement of the guide with said head during the first part of the winding operation, the guide compresses the vfelt facing of said head so as to partially imbed itself therein and then during the continued movement of the guide carrier 18 to the limit of said movement, the outer or free end portion of the supporting arm 22 of the guide 10 bends laterally in a direction opposite to said movement as indicated in Fig. l. Upon engagement of the giilide l() with said head during the latter part of the traverse,

. the guide after compressing the felt facingI of the head, bends the outer peripheral portion of the head outwardly a sufficient dis tance (F ig. 3) to enable the thread guide to lay the thread so that it is close against the felt facing of t-he head when the peripheral portion returns to'normal position. Thus it will be apparent that during the first part of the winding operation the supporting arm 22 of the thread guide l0 will bend sufficiently upon engagement of the thread guide with the head 4, to enable the sliding carrier to move to the limit of its movement in said direction, and that as the mass of thread is being built up and the thread guide is carried thereby outwardly so as to engage the outer peripheral portion of the head, the supporting arm of the thread guide will continue to bend to compensate for the continuedy movementin said direction of the sliding carrier upon each engagement of the thread guide with the head, and this will continue until 'the thread guide is moved outwardly a suflicient distance toward the periphery of the head to cause it to engage a yielding portion ofthe head, and froin that point on `flexing will occur in the head and continue to increase, and flexing of the supporting arm will decrease to the point where the building up of the mass of thread is completed. It will therefore be apparent that for the greater portion of the winding operation the head 4 will `be bent outwardly by the thread guide upon being brought into engagement therewith, so as to enable the thread guide to lay the thread so as to be close against the head when in normal position, and `that the closeness the thread will be thus laid will increase in degree to substantially the end'of the winding operation. While during the first part 0f the winding operation, the closeness that the thread is laid to the head is determined only by the degree of yield of the felt facing of the head, this is sufficient for that part of the winding, as when the cop has been substantially unwound there is not the danger of the thread becoming entangled between thelower end of the mass of thread and thehea-d that there is for the first part of the unwinding operation.

From the foregoing it may be noted that a wound spool is provided of the Universal type having a core and disk-like heads secured on the ends of the core, in which the thread is so wound on the. core that its end adjacent one of the heads thereof closely engages or hugs said head with a yielding spring pressure, and that the closeness of the engagement increases in degree from the inner toward the outer peripheral portions of said end.

lVhile for convenience the thread has been described as being wound so as to closely engage but one head of the cop, it will be understood that by the saine method and device described the thread may be similarly laid close against the other head as well. The other head (i is not shown as provided with a felt disk and that is not necessary if that head is to be removed for unwinding. The flexing of ythe guide arm and spool head (i will however provide a close contact between the head 6 and the end of the mass adjacent thereto. i

On account of the narrowness of the shoe lO the thread is brought quite close to the heads during the early traverses, and only a slight flexing of the heads during the later traverses is necessary to cause the thread to be so laid as to produce a close contact between the mass and heads when the heads are unflexed. The width of the shoeis only slightly greater than the diameter `of the thread. y

As will be evident to those skilled in the A art my invention permits of various modifications without departing from the spiritI thereof or the scope of the vappended claims.

lVhat I claim is: l. The method of winding a spool having a core and a flexible head of resilient maguide and causing said head to flex the guide at the end of its traverse toward said head during the first part of the Winding operation.

3. The method of Winding a spool having a core and a fiexible head of resilient material secured on one end thereof which com prises cross Winding a thread on the core by means of a fiexible traversing guide and causing said head to flex the guide during the first part of the Winding operation and the guide to flex said head during the latter part of the Winding operation.

4. The method of Winding a spool having a core and a head having yielding material on its inner face secured on one end thereof which comprises cross Winding the thread on the core by a traversing guide and causing the guide to compress said yielding material at the end of its movement toward said head.

5. A thread guiding device of' the class described for use in Winding a thread spool of the Universal type having a flexible head` comprising a thread guide riding on the mass of thread as it is being built up and moving back and forth longitudinally thereof, having a resilient supporting arm and having vthe normal limit of' its movenient in a direction toward said head at a lpoint so located With relation to the inner f'ace of said head that said arm is caused to bend when said guide is brought into engagement with the inner face of said head during the first part of the Winding operation, and the outer peripheral portion of said head is caused to bend during the latter part of' the Winding operation so as to enable the thread to be laid close against said head,lv

and a sliding carrier upon which said arm is mounted for thus traversing the thread guide longitudinally of the cop.

6. A thread guide for a thread guiding device of the class described for use in Winding a thread spool having a flanged head, With a Winding of the Universal type, having a narrow shoe and a resilient supporting arm therefor so as to enable the guide to yield laterally at the end of its traverse in combination with means for causing the outer end of said resilient arm to continue its traversing movement after the shoe of said guide engages the head of said spool.

7. A thread guiding device of' the class described f'or Winding a thread spool of the Universal type comprising a thread guide arranged to ride upon the mass of' thread as it is being built up, having a resilient supporting arm so as to enable the guide to yield laterally, and a sliding carrier on which said arm is mounted for traversing the guide longitudinally of the spool.

8. A thread spool of' the Universal type comprising a core, a yielding head secured on one end of the core, and a mass of thread Wound on the core With one end thereof arranged close against said head, the degree of closeness increasing from the inner to the outer peripheral portion of said end of the mass, said head exerting a spring tension against said mass.

ROBERT K. CLARK. 

